Removable strip flexible closure



June 19, 1951 J. J. SKELLY 7,

REMOVABLE STRIP FLEXIBLE CLOSURE Filed Oct. 18, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. 'JAMES J. JKELLY ATTORNEY June 19, 1951 J. J. SKELLY REMOVABLE STRIP FLEXIBLE CLOSURE Filed Oct. 18, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheetv 2 8%5: JNVENTOR.

JA M$ .1. 3X5; L Y 12%. 4 BY M 6AM ATTO/fNEY Patented June 19, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ,REMO'VABLE STRIP FLEXIBLE CLOSURE James .I. Skelly, Cleveland Heights, Ohio Application October 18, 1946, Serial No. 704,106

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates 'to cabinets and more particularly to a cabinet having a flexible disappearing door or closure construction.

It is an object of this invention to provide a. flexible disappearing cabinet closure wherein a plurality of pivotally connected relatively long and narrow strips are provided to form the closure, these strips being readily detached and interchanged with one another. If the strips are differently colored thispermits the user to select any of various color combinations.

Another object or" this invention lies in the provision of simple means to interconnect the strips that form the closure.

A further object lies in insuring that the various strips will be maintained in proper alignment so that there isno possibility of binding or canting of the strips in their guide members.

A further object is the provision of a flexible closure which permits easy detachment of the individual parts for cleaning or refinishing.

These and other objects of my invention will be apparent as the following description proceeds.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through one form of cabinet which may be employed in conjunction with the closure member of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial front elevation showing the external appearance of my closure member and also illustrating how the strips could cant if it were not for the novel aligning means;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section through the closure member showing how the strips slide in the guide channels; and

Fig. 4 is a section of the guide channel.

The cabinet indicated generally at C may have a front panel I in an access opening Ia formed therein to give access to the interior of the cabinet. Likewise, in accordance with conventional practice I may provide a top member 2, a back member 3, a bottom member 4 and side members one of which is indicated at 3a in the figure. The shelves are supported on back member 5 and one or more shelves such as 6 and I may be provided, the details of the shelf construction forming no part of this invention.

In order to guide the disappearing closure member D, I provide a U-shaped channel member 8 there being one channel member at each side of the cabinet. The channel member has a Vertical portion 9 disposed at the front of the cabinet to receive the door in its closed position and has a top run 911 connected to the portion 9 by a gradually curving section. I may also pro- 2 vide a 'rearwar'clly disposed vertical section 9bif the door is such a length as to require it.. The door D comprises a plurality of long narrow strip members It preferably made of sheet metalv or other sheet material. These members may be exteriorly colored and I contemplate that in some instances it may be desirable to have the members of different colors whereby a pattern of color can be provided by judicious assembly of the parts. In order to pivotally connect the channel members It) together I provide a straight leg portion II on one side of each member and. a similar leg portion I2 is formed on the other side thereof. Leg portion I2 merges with an outwardly extending leg or lip I3 the two legs. cooperating to form a U-shaped channel. I pre-- fer that the leg portions II and I2 be parallel.

and perpendicular to their connecting portion.

whereas the outwardly facing leg or lip I3 be at somewhat an angle with the leg I2 so that the: parts always fit together when the strips lie in. the curved portion of each guide member.

In order to prevent canting of the strips I0, I; provide an aligning strip I5, preferably attached to the upper end of the closure member. As seen at the bottom of Fig. 2, since there is a reasonable amount of clearance between the ends of each strip member It and the guiding channel, it would be possible for narrow strips to become canted, which would cause binding of the closure member in the cabinet. However, by making the guiding or aligning portion I5 substantially wider than the strips, this member cannot cant appreciably in the guides even though the clearance is unchanged. Since the guide member is linked to the strip members as shown in Fig. 1, the guide member will maintain all strip members in alignment, that is, normal to the guiding channels. However, the very fact that guide member I5 is wide enough to maintain the strips in alignment would preclude its passing through the curved portion of the guide channel if it were solid at the ends. To solve this problem I form the ends of the guide member I5 with projections I! which slide in the guide channels and which permit the guide member to traverse the curved portion of the channel as shown in the upper right hand corner of Fig. 1.

In order to install or remove the closure member for replacement or refinishing of the strip members It, I may provide a bottom piece 20 illustrated at the lower right of Fig. 1 Which is secured to the bottom of my cabinet by fastening means 2|. When strip 20 is removed the entire door member D can be removed from the cabiq net. Thus, it can be seen that I have provided the flexible disappearing closure member having guide means to maintain the strip members in aligmnent, to prevent binding in the guide channels. It can also be seen that each unit or strip of the closure member is formed in a very simple section and although I obtain a positive flexible connection between the parts, the parts are simple to manufacture and can be readily replaced or interchanged.

Although I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, I contemplate that modifications may be made therein in accordance with conventional design practice without departing from the spirit of my invention and therefore the claims, and not the aforesaid embodiment, are determinative of the scope of my invention.

Having thus described the present invention so that others skilled in the art may be able to understand and practice the same, I state that what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is defined in what is claimed.

What I claim is:

1. In a cabinet having an opening, spaced guide members each having an upwardly-extending portion at opposite sides of said opening and a curved portion merging with a rearwardly-extending portion above said Opening, a relatively wide alignment member disposed in spaced relation from the lower portion of said cabinet opening and bridging said guide means, the ends of said alignment member having spaced projections to permit said member to traverse said curved guide portions, and a plurality of relatively narrow closure strips bridging said guide members, one narrow strip being loosely articulated with said alignment member and the others articulated with each other, with said narrow strips being maintained in alignment by said alignment member, said alignment member and narrow closure strips being maintained in their coupled relationship solely by their engagement with said guide members.

2. In a cabinet, closure means for the cabinet comprising a plurality of pivotally connected strip members, each of said strip members comprising a channel of sheet material, each channel having a web portion, an upper flat flange extending rearwardly and generally perpendicular from said web portion, and a lower flat flange extending rearwardly and generally perpendicularly from said web portion and folded outwardly to form a terminal lip diverging downwardly from said lower flange thereby forming an outwardly facing open groove for pivotal reception of the upper leg of an adjacent channel, the upper leg of each of said strip members being freely insertable into its working position in the groove of an adjacent strip member while said strip members remain in parallel planes, and channel members engaging the ends of said strip members for maintaining said strip members in operative pivotal relationship.

JAMES J. SKELLY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the tile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 471,138 Peterson Mar. 22, 1892 507,123 Havens Oct. 24, 1893 830,456 Schulter Sept. 4, 1906 1,594,721 Gilmore Aug. 3, 1926 2,019,379 Anderson Oct. 29, 1935 2,300,265 Siess Oct. 27, 1942 

